Podcast 101: The What, The How, The Why and The Who.

Every now and again I’ll mention #ProudToBeKinky Podcast on this blog, which for anyone who doesn’t know is a podcast that I host with my sexy friend Bakji. The ethos of the podcast is to support and encourage the kinky and the kink curious as they journey into their kink community or start trying their kinks at home. We aim to keep things positive, fun and non-judgemental.

We have had a combination of guests episodes and episodes with just Bakji and I, of late we have moved into sharing details of out FemDom scenes as the main content of our episodes. Which we hope helps people to see that no matter your kinks you can have fun and play safely without the need for ‘one true wayism’ or venturing into stereotypes that don’t really do it for you.

That covers in a nutshell what #ProudToBeKinky is but the bigger question is … what the hell is a podcast? Yep, it was brought to my attention at the end of last year that it’s all well and good me pimping the podcast on my blog, but perhaps I’m overlooking the fact that not everyone knows what a podcast is or how to access them, or for that matter why they’d even want to.

For those of you who are looking to try new things in 2019 perhaps my Podcast 101 post can point you in the right direction and you can discover a whole host of shows that will get you excited, informed, entertained and maybe even aroused! Yes, they are that good they will turn you on!

Go on then Floss, enlighten us, what is a podcast?

From Google … Podcast – a digital audio file made available on the Internet for downloading to a computer or mobile device, typically available as a series, new instalments of which can be received by subscribers automatically.

Chances are you will be able to find a podcast on anything that interests you. Some are hosted by everyday folk like myself and Bakji, and others are hosted by well-known people and celebrities.

Some release an episode on a weekly basis for as long as those involved keep it up, others do a series of episodes, take a break and then return.

When you tune in to a podcast you will hear either one voice or a few different voices sharing the thoughts on the topic of your chosen podcast.

How do I listen to a podcast?

There are a number of ways to listen to most podcasts. The majority of people tend to listen through their smartphone, they are great for making commuting more bearable.

If you’d like to listen through your smartphone you can download an app like acast, stitcher, or overcast. If you are an iPhone user there is the iPhone podcast app. You could also access these apps via an iPad or other brands of tablet.

Don’t panic though, if you sighed and shouted at me because you don’t have a smartphone or tablet you can still listen to a wide range of podcasts.

For example to listen to #ProudToBeKinky in your browser you need to head to our #ProudToBeKinky Libsyn page if however, you wanted to listen to our friends over at Loving BDSM you go here.

If you know there is a podcast you’d like to listen to and you don’t have an app typing the podcast name and ‘listen in browser’ into google should yield positive results.

What will it cost me?

Nothing! That’s right podcasts are free to listen too. #ProudToBeKinky has cost us money to create and has ongoing costs associated with it but there is no charge for you to listen to all 83 of our available episodes and every episode we release in the future will be free as well. This is the case for 99% of podcasts I would say.

With bigger podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience, you will be subjected to a lot of advertising to benefit from that free content. Which isn’t a criticism by the way, if someone offered us big bucks to advertise on the podcast we’d definitely take it.

What you may find on the smaller podcasts like ours is a mention each episode of how you can support us through Patreon, which for those that choose to do so will cost a monthly sum of money.

Woah! Woah! Woah! So you are in it for the money?

I bloody wish! And if that ever becomes the case I promise I’ll be upfront about it. Currently, our Patreon donations cover things like web hosting, our Libsyn account and upgrading our very low-end equipment. Covering these costs is amazing for us! It means that we can keep creating content even if life throws us a curveball.

Even if we took what we make from Patreon and tried to divide it between us to cover our labour we still wouldn’t make an amount worth writing home about.

We do however try to make supporting us on Patreon worthwhile. We create exclusive content that only our Patrons get and this is going to include so much more in 2019. Which I’m very excited about.

Community spirit in the podcast age

From small podcasts like ours to larger ones like The Guilty Feminist fans of the show tend to migrate together, from all over the world, communing in their own little corner of the interweb, much like us sex bloggers do.

Both ourselves and Off the Cuffs Podcast have Discord groups for our listeners to congregate and chat about the show and show related content. Discord is akin to a chat room or a group chat on a messenger service, the bonus is that no phone numbers are required and you can remain completely anonymous.

Even without something like Discord though, Twitter is a hive of podcast fans and our account there has some fab followers.

If you have a specific area of interest though, you could just download your chosen app and browse through the categories that appeal to you and give some a try. If you are keen to find history podcasts, for example, you could also just do a google search for ‘history podcasts’ and you will find plenty to choose from.

I previously mentioned the Loving BDSM podcast which I’m a huge fan of and if BDSM and D/s relationships are your thing then it is definitely worth a listen. Kayla and John who host it also create another podcast, which is very much for our listening pleasure, the Masturbation Monday podcast is where the wonderful John Brownstone read erotica submitted by the talented erotica writers within the online community.

What are you waiting for? Give it a go!

I hope that covers some questions that many of you have had for a while. If there are any points I didn’t cover or things you would like more clarity on please do ask. For the most part, you can only explain so far and then listening really is the only way to discover what podcasts are all about. So why not click one of the links above and just try one episode to start with. Be warned though it’s easy to get addicted and falling into a podcast rabbit hole is a likely scenario.

If you enjoy the content I provide both here and as part of the #ProudToBeKinky Podcast and you would like to support that, then likes and comments are joyful to receive and you can also click below to support me through Ko-fi. All support through Ko-fi is going towards my Eroticon attendance in March.